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Sony Admits PSN Hackers Had Access to Unencrypted Data

by Brandon Dimmel on April, 28 2011 at 08:04AM EDT

Yesterday we reported on the hacking of Sony's PlayStation Network (PSN), an online gaming platform for the company's PlayStation 3 (PS3) console. The hack affects 77 million user and has left the PlayStation network paralyzed.

When the security breach was first announced, Sony remained quiet on the extent of the damage. New details are starting to emerge, with the tech company admitting that some of the personal data available to the hackers was in no way encrypted. This means that data thieves can do as they please with the information they've stolen from the electronics giant.

Doubts Remain About Credit Card Encryption

There is some good news for PS3 owners: Sony says all credit card data was fully encrypted, meaning mysterious charges are unlikely to occur, though it's still possible.

"The entire credit card table was encrypted and we have no evidence that credit card data was taken," Sony said.

"The personal data table, which is a separate data set, was not encrypted, but was, of course, behind a very sophisticated security system that was breached in a malicious attack." (Source: tgdaily.com)

Not everyone is convinced that is the extent of the damage, however. Insiders point to a 2010 report which noted that credit card information on PlayStation Network was not at all encrypted; thus, some have their doubts as to whether or not Sony is embellishing the truth with regard to the latest breach.

PSN Service Down Until Next Week

For the tens of millions of gamers left without an online gaming platform, Sony says the PSN service is likely to remain down for another few days.

"Our employees have been working day and night to restore operations as quickly as possible, and we expect to have some services up and running within a week," Sony said. "However, we want to be very clear that we will only restore operations when we are confident that the network is secure." (Source: telegraph.co.uk)